Join us throughout the months of Elul and Tishrei to learn, grow, and be inspired.
Please support these and future OU Women’s Initiative programs.
Mrs. Karen Thaler is the Dean of Students at Darchei Binah HaChadash Seminary where she has taught and mentored students for over 25 years. She is also the co-founder and Israel Director of Yad Leah, a chessed organization that provides clothing for families across Israel.
Dr. Ayelet Shachar completed her Psy.D in School and Community Psychology at Hofstra University. She received a B.A. from Queens College, after majoring in psychology and double minoring in business and Judaic studies. Known for her warm and integrative teaching style, she gives shiurim in a variety of settings that blend Torah, research, and personal growth. She previously served as an OU-JLIC educator and gave vaadim for Asicha Seminars. She currently oversees Torah programming for the OU Women’s Initiative.
Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman is the founding director of the OU Women’s Initiative. She is a community leader with over three decades of teaching experience in New York, Alabama and Pennsylvania. She received a PhD in Educational Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, MS in School Psychology from Queens College and MA in Jewish Education and a Certificate in Educational Technology from Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University. She received a Teacher’s Certificate from Beth Jacob Seminary (BJJ). She is the rebbetzin of the Lower Merion Synagogue as well as the co-chair of the Lower Merion Community Mikvah in Bala Cynwyd, PA. She is a kallah teacher and mikvah attendant. She and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Shmidman, live in Bala Cynwyd, PA and are the parents of four sons.
Elky recently retired from working as a court attorney in the NYS Supreme Court. For the past twenty years, Elky has been working on raising awareness of the importance of proper pronunciation in tefillah.
Jennifer Airley is an exercise physiologist by degree and a personal trainer by profession, with decades of experience helping clients pursue holistic health through physical strength, resilience, and balance. Her approach is deeply rooted in the belief that well-being extends beyond the body. Torah learning and teaching have long been her personal passion, infusing her work with spiritual depth and a focus on inner growth.
Her and along with her husband Rob and children have made Aliyah in 2006 to Ramat bet Shemesh from NY. Since the tragic loss of her beloved son, Binyamin Hy”d, who was killed defending Israel in Gaza in 2023, Jennifer’s relationship with Hashem has become more public and central to her mission. Her journey of grief has brought her to deepen her already present Bitachon (trust in God) and to share that strength with others. Through speaking, writing, and initiatives like Beit Binyamin, she brings together body, soul, and community—encouraging others to find healing, purpose, connection to Torah, Eretz Yisrael and Ribono shel Olam, even in the darkest of times.
Slovie Jungreis Wolff is an acclaimed author, renowned lecturer and parenting instructor. She is one of the most sought after and passionate speakers in the Jewish world today. Slovie is the leader of Hineni Couples and has taught about life, relationships and marriage for more than 30 years. Slovie’s groundbreaking parenting handbook ‘Raising A Child With Soul’ is published by St. Martin’s Press and has been a source of guidance to parents and families all over the world. She has given workshops and lectured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama, Europe and Israel and has addressed thousands at South Africa’s Sinai Indaba by the invitation of Chief Rabbi Goldstien. Slovie is a popular columnist for the renowned site Aish.com where her articles about life and Judaism have inspired people worldwide. Her parenting workshops on JewishEbooks.com has reached audiences around the globe. She is also a columnist for Ami magazine and The Jewish Press. Slovie is the daughter of Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, a”h, and continues her mother’s legacy of rekindling the spark within every soul.